WSOP 2011: So, who fancies $8.7 million?

Imagine for a moment what $8.7 million looks like. Pretty difficult, isn't it? And what would you spend it on? I mean, the interest alone would keep most free-spenders happy. What's more, where would you put it? In a bank? Property investment? Under a very big bed? Question, questions, but only one person here in Las Vegas this week will need to worry about finding the answers when the World Series of Poker Main Event final table plays out in November.

The huge first-place prize was confirmed tonight following a big turnout for yesterday's Day 1C and an eye-popping field of 2,809 for today's Day 1D. The grumps who feared the low fields on the preceding two flights meant the WSOP had had its day have been well and truly put in their place.

Men in suits with pockets for very large calculators have been working on the figures for the past few hours. The total field for this year's event is now set at 6,865, the third biggest in history, and confirmation that poker is alive and kicking.

Those entries generated a prize pool of $64,531,000, with 693 players due to get paid. Just finishing in 693rd will get you $19,359.

If you'd really like to know what a great big pile of cash looks like, here's Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel and John Racener playing heads-up for last year's first prize of $8.94 million...

Now that the players are settling back in their seats after the dinner break, it's time to build a stack and take a shot at some serious, and I mean really serious, money.

* * * *

TWEET OF THE HOURNoah Boeken: "Dinner break doin great but not done yet! 85.000"

TWITTER HASHTAG OF THE HOUR#videogamestakemorephysicalexertionthanpoker--Jason Mercier, who has been playing Mario Brothers 3 all day while he waits to come back for Day 2

COMPLAINT OF THE HOURBarry Greenstein: "What percentage of poker players have indoor plumbing? Apparently not many, since every time I use a bathroom stall the guy before me has peed on the seat."

OBSCURE PREDICTION OF THE HOURProjected November Nine if all finalists are named after places:Nicolas BabelZachary FloridaMatthew IrelandEdward JordanNachman BerlinValentin MessinaFelipe MontenegroTomothy SalvadorAdriano Santa AnaAnselmo Villarreal